Local Boys & Girls Clubs receive a boost from rotary projects

A team of Encinitas Coastal Rotary Club members recently completed a remodel project for the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Dieguito.

“It’s definitely an improvement on what it was,” said John Hardin, a marine biologist who was part of the team of Rotary members who completed the project over the course of a few months. “And the kids like it. The kids can sit down on the rubber tiles and play or eat lunch if they want, stuff like that. It’s a lot nicer than sitting in the dirt.”

The project, which cost about $6,000 and lasted from April to July, included the renovation of the front patio branch clubhouse, replacing a dirt path with a stone paver walk and installing two cantilever umbrellas to add some shade.

“One thing that was really cool is we had these pavers that were one foot by one foot, they’re a little bigger than that, but they’re actually fairly heavy because they’re dense rubber, and the kids made a chain,” Hardin said. “They got set down by the delivery truck 50 yards away and the kids made a great chain of moving the pavers to get them into our work area. That took a lot of work and it was fun to watch the teamwork.”

The news patio at the Boys & Girls Club of San Dieguito.

(Photos by Vembra Holnagel and John Hardin
)

The Encinitas Coastal Rotary Club’s mission includes community service. It is part of a network of more than 1 million members around the world who are in local rotary clubs.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of San Dieguito dates back to 1966, and has grown into the second largest chapter in San Diego County, according to its website. The San Dieguito clubs currently serve more than 7,000 children with afterschool programs and other offerings.